CHAPEL HILL – So, what will RJ Davis do for an encore?
His coach, Hubert Davis, is fine if the reigning ACC Player of the Year turns in the same exact season as a year ago. And why not?
Davis led the ACC in scoring at 21.2 points per game, was first-team All-America, set a North Carolina single-season mark with 113 made 3-pointers, and is within striking distance of becoming UNC’s career scoring leader.
Davis totaled 784 points last year, and netting the same number this time around would tie him with Tyler Hansbrough atop Carolina’s scoring list with 2,872 points. One more point and the record belongs to Davis. It’s something he’s not uber focused on but would certainly like to achieve.
“Obviously I know what’s at stake in terms of (having) the scoring record, but I don’t want to put my main focus on like I have to be UNC’s all-time leading scorer,” Davis said. “That’s really not my main focus, not my key emphasis on this year.
“Yes, obviously it would be great if I get it, really just taking it one step at a time and being able to be the player I know I can be.”
Davis is clear to note reaching the historic milestone will more be a byproduct of the season than him hunting for it.
“If it happens it happens,” he said. “And you guys will see me smiling from ear to ear.”
Of course, Hanbrough, who is one of the top players in program history, will be happy for the 6-foot- guard from White Plains, NY, right?
“I don’t think so,” Davis said laughing.
Moving beyond the surface of Davis and what milestones he can personally reach this season, one will find what really makes him tick. He used the Covid year returning for a fifth season because there are aspects of his game to improve before embarking on a possible NBA career, and the NIL benefits are certainly lucrative enough it’s fair to say he also made a business decision.
But Davis left something on the floor of Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles late last March, and he wants it back. The lengthy extended hours in the gym over the offseason were fueled more by that than eclipsing Hansbrough.
Davis suffered his worst shooting night of the season going 4-for-20 from the field, including 0-for-9 from the perimeter, in the top-seed Tar Heels’ 89-87 loss to Alabama in the Sweet 16.
For a player who shot 39.8% from beyond the arc on the season to end his campaign in that manner isn’t something easily dismissed as just an off night. It fuels a player with the right mindset, which is an apt description of Davis.
“Obviously last year that being our last game, it was hard in terms of I prepare myself mentally and physically for that game and obviously I didn’t shoot the ball really well," he said. "And coming up short like that with the phenomenal team we had last year, it was hard to process. Use it as motivation coming into this year.”
This year, Davis and only four other scholarship players are back at UNC. But he has the fortune of point guard Elliot Cadeau running in the backcourt with him again, and the faster pace with increased possession should afford Davis a chance at posting similar numbers to last season. But there are added responsibilities.
“His leadership role has just been off the charts,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said. “It’s been really nice to see the progression of him in terms of maturity and feeling comfortable to be that type of leader within his own personality.”
Davis isn’t a big rah-rah guy, nor is he much of a fanny slapper. Teammates say they learn from him by simply watching how he prepares, goes about the little things that make a player whole, and his stability focusing whether the ball goes through the basket or not.
Players can lead many different ways, and doing so by example is a quality Davis provides the Heels. That's in his comfort zone. Though, teammates may hear him at times, too.
"I like to lead in my own way,” he said. “I'd like to lead in the way I know how to whether it's by example or by being vocal."
One thing Davis will do over the next five months is put the ball in the basket. Not long after scoring 36 points in a home win over Wake Forest, Davis set a Smith Center record with 42 in a victory over Miami.
He shot 42.8% from the field, averaged 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 steals playing 34.9 minutes per contest, and shot 87.3% from the free throw line. Davis netted 20-plus points in 23 of UNC’s 37 games, and hit the 30-plus mark four times.
Davis will go into the opener against Elon fifth on UNC’s all-time scoring list and within, second in career made threes with 274, its all-time leader in free throws at 85.8%, and is the only Tar Heel with 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, 250 three-pointers, and 100 steals.
His place in history already has a secure spot. But there’s more for Davis to scale individually and with his team. That mission formally begins soon, and the encore might have even more to offer.
